A hospital patient often has the need for multiple intravenous (IV) infusions from multiple supplies of fluids, such as drugs. This requires the use of multiple infusion pumps that are connected to the patient and to fluid containers via fluid lines. As a result, the multiple fluid lines often become tangled or unruly.
A nurse or medical practitioner is required to trace the fluid line from the container to the patient to ensure the correct drug is infusing through the correct pump and connected to the correct catheter. However, as additional fluid supplies are used in the system, the fluid lines can get intertwined. This makes it difficult for the nurse to quickly and efficiently trace the fluid lines to the proper pump and fluid supply, especially in the region of the fluid line downstream or below the pump. A nurses may begin tracing the line, reach a point where several lines are crossed or tangled, and proceed to select the wrong line as a result of the confusion of sorting through several intertwined lines. A serious error may occur if a line is connected incorrectly to a pump, such as an epidural line connected to an IV line. Or two lines can be connected together that are not compatible.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for methods and devices for properly sorting through fluid lines in an infusion system.